Boring. Stale. Dull as a weathered board. This is the normal way many people describe a math classroom. Lectures day after day that only lead to more homework. Sometimes this is what it even feels like to those of us on the other side of the big desk.
Every once in a while, a rainbow appears to brighten the gloom. Technology from Texas Instruments and Vernier is one of those rainbows for me. Using probes, sensors, CBL's, CBR's, and graphing calculator technology can bring the real world into the classrooms with practical extensions of math concepts in hands-on activities. In http://www.4teachers.org/testimony/easterly/index.shtml, the students enthusiasm shines through in a breakthrough moment in a physics classroom. This same excitement can be shared equally in the math and science departments with this sort of technology.
Even having a single CBL can enhance the classroom as is evidenced by a tip on this page: http://www.nea.org/tips/tech/techclas.html.
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4 comments:
Any time we can incorporate more technology in the classroom, it will help us relate to today's students who are truly the natives concerning technology.
I get some of the same reactions from my math students. Maybe the use os some of this technology can help answer the question, "When will I ever use this again."
Anytime we can help bring various content areas together for the students, it's a good thing for all concerned. It appears this will help students bring the science and math together in a meaningful way, cool!
Your ideas sound like a very welcome change for the math students of today. However, no matter the subject being taught, it seems as though there are at least one or two students who ask, "How does this affect me?"
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